They're required to have to have millions of dollars of insurance for the project and no coordinator wants to be the one who irreparably damaged a megastar's hearing, but then again, if you knew what you were talking about, you'd already know that. By the way, that's sarcasm, something Willis sometimes uses in movies...in THIS one as a matter of fact! Just remember it's all fake and blanks aren't that loud. They amount to little more than a kid's cap gun and are mostly used as markers for the sound and muzzle-flash put in during post-production.
One big reason is the late Alan Rickman. Hans is one of the creepiest psychos I've seen in movies. Even as he went on to play Snape in the Harry Potter films, I always remember this about Die Hard: Hans in his perfectly made suit sitting at a desk, making deals over a radio while blowing away hostages with his H&K pistol. Even the gun could represent Hans: it was a very slim, sophisticated piece of German engineering. It was unusual in that the safety and hammer were both connected to a huge lever in the grip, which is called a "squeeze-cocker." Hence the name, the user must squeeze and hold the grip down to fire the gun. It is VERY accurate, in fact probably better than a lot of handguns costing over $900. And no, it wasn't cheap at $1,100 in 1998. The script had so many memorable lines and even minor characters like Karl (the long-haired blond) kept me hooked and ironically, he spoke very few lines and let his Steyr rifle "do the talking." And then, even when they're talking over the radio, John and Hans keep viewers wondering what will happen next. However, what really hammered the movie home is how the hero is fully aware of his mortality. He patches up his badly cut feet and realizes the conversation he will have could be the last time he talks to his mysterious buddy and he tells Al to find Holly and tell her "John said he was sorry." It was like being slapped in the face because I've never to this point seen an action film where the main character is kicking the crap out of bad guys left and right and is still fully aware that he is NOT superhuman. This is how action movies should be made. Small wonder that it still holds up well over 20 years later.
The characters are SO well written, too. Every single character in this movie feels so rich and interesting. From Argyle, to almost all of the terrorists, to the cops and FBI agents, to John McClane himself
First Blood felt almost unsettlingly real to me upon a recent rewatch. And Rambo 4, though Rambo himself didn't feel that real, the rest did. Especially because some of the opening footage was actual newsreel.
First Blood is a very different type I find film to the sequels, and I feel it gets unfairly lumped in with the far dumber sequels, too often. Even the phrase "going Rambo" always seems to refer to The one man army approach, where he takes on waves of bad guys, when in the first film he barely killed anyone, and stealthily ensnared some, rather than going "guns blazing".
Michael Harris I just rewatched First Blood also and gotta agree with you. It makes you squirm with emotion and I genuinely want to cry for the dude. Fucking Teasle back the fuck off and give the man some room to breathe, for fuck's sake!
I remember watching an interview with George Lucas about the appeal of Star Wars. He says that it is about basic mythical archetypes of good vs evil. I think all great action films make use of these archetypes. It is very easy for a films to fall into the trap of using clichés or stereotypes that make them derivative "been there, don that" kinds of films. The mark of a good action film is one that uses these archetypes or clichés and somehow still manages to seem fresh and entertaining. Die hard does this. I think the trick is in its simplicity: no complicated plot or dialogue...just a very human, and therefore relatable hero; his damsel in distress; a greedy, narcissistic and charming villain who lacks remorse; and a supporting cast of characters that also fulfill other types of archetypes: the joker, the sidekick, the law, henchmen, etc. For me, Die Hard is three kinds of movie: the best Action Film ever made, the best Christmas movie ever made, and the best feel good movie ever made.
Archetypes are necessary, but you still need CHARACTERS at the heart of the film. It can be surrounded by archetypes, but it needs at least one fully rounded character at the center of it all. For Die Hard, that was Bruce Willis' John McClane. Hell, even Hans Gruber, played excellently by Alan Rickman, was an archetype. It's just that Alan Rickman is such a great actor that he made an archetype a very unique and memorable character.
Archetypes are basic psychological personality structures for characters. It's not either/or. The Characters are one of many archetypes that can be assigned to any character, but many award-winning storytellers don't use archetypes in their works. Only two Characters are necessary for a story, Protagonist, and Antagonist, but they don't have to be assigned to archetypes to make the story work. Rickman didn't "make" a character out of an archetype. Hans Gruber is a pretty simple character with simple motives. He's a thief who is motivated by greed. (oldest motive in the book) The story is about John McClane, a much more complicated character who is motivated by love for his family, his sense of right and wrong and, more specifically, good versus evil, and his almost Superhero-like actions in the face of overwhelming odds, not to mention his unwavering perseverance in taking down the bad guys. Hans Gruber was just the antagonist needed to impede the protagonist's progress and make the story work! Just like the terminators in any of that franchise. They were all antagonists! Even in Terminator 2, Arnie was the protagonist saving the kid. The T-1000 was the antagonist. In context, McClane as Arnie and Gruber as the T-1000. Luke Skywalker is the protagonist, Darth Vader, the antagonist. Same story.
"Rambo didn't have a big body count, like 2 people died inadvertently? But that's it. And his character felt very real" They were talking about Rambo II, but yes, Rambo the first was real, and well done. "Killed for**vagrancy** in Jerkwater USA. That will look great on his tombstone at Arlington." (something like that)
One thing you did'nt mention was that for the first time in action movie history all the bad guys were memorable and with names. Heinrichs hair is the most epic thing ever.
Rossatron, you must be a writer. You're the only one I've read here to make that distinction. The Bond films have no real story. Just as Starsky and Hutch fans really only watched to see Starsky's Batmanesque car, Bond fans kept watching to track the evolution of his spy gadgets and the girls!
An everyday man/cop who turns into a hero. Not a recon marine or a champion fighter. Just an everyday Joe, like 99% of the population. That's what I enjoyed about the film. It was realistic to the sense that you can actually see this happening.
it's a film that i still love to watch whenever it's on. it's never dated. it gives you a chance to see what is going on as well as establish the locations. you have a protagonist that is an every man that the audiences can relate to. you have a villain that is just charming, cool, and intelligent. plus, those supporting characters. it is a masterpiece. it sets the bar of what action films need to be.
Die Hard is your classic 80's action flick. It's a film that a lot have tried to emulate & never quite reached. You can't outdo Die Hard. You just can't. John Wick is the only film in recent memory I can think of as a pure action film to rival Die Hard, but that's because it defies everything Die Hard does. It's bad guys pissing off a worse guy who hunts them.
Die Hard 2 is my second favourite as it still has the tradmarks of the first film where 3 started the downfall of the franchise with the sequels taking traits from that film.
Die Hard (1988): 4 stars/4 stars Die Hard 2: Die Harder (1990): 2.5 stars/4 stars Die Hard With a Vengeance (1995): 3 stars/4 stars Live Free or Die hard (2007): 2 stars/4 stars A Good Day to Die Hard (2013): 1.5 stars/4 stars
God I love this movie by far one of my favorite overall action movie I wouldn't change anything the action is great and every character is amazing and use of it's setting Hans Gruber is an incredible villain
There's no reason to hold back on saying that it's the greatest action movie ever made. It is. That's just a fact. ...although, Speed is a VERY close second.
Predator is the best action film ever made. Die Hard is a close 2nd tied with RoboCop. Die Hard 2 is the best Die Hard sequel. Speed is a bit of a clusterfuck. Entertaining, but technically lacking. It even had fundamental editing errors.
Harry Balzak I don't think Predator is an well plotted as Die Hard. There are things introduced at the start of Die Hard such as Holly's watch, her using her maiden name of Genero, her placing the photograph of her family face down and John McClane being told not to wear shoes after flying that all have huge pay-offs later on. It's honestly one of the cleverest, well-written movies ever.
Swoooze Die Hard might be a better film, but Predator is better action. It is pure. They didn't even bother with a love interest. We are talking about action here, right? You seem to be straying into drama.
Action requires stakes to be dramatic. I love Predator, mostly because it's funny, there are good action scenes, Arnold and a cool monster. But it's not the same because there are no stakes. Why do we care whether or not Arnold lives? We care about John McClain because he wants to save his wife and reunite his family.
Terminator 2 would hold the accolade of being the greatest action film ever made I think if wasn`t for the sci-fi elements it carries. Pure action... I say Die Hard or Hard Boiled
Rossatron are you going to do Lethal Weapon?! Probably Die Hard's leading competition of that era? Or oh god here is an actual first I'd love to see! Die Hard vs Lethal Weapon a comparison of the two!
+Interesting dialogue that is very quotable and memorable.......+Playboy playmate in the opening airport scene.....+Naked woman in office..........+Heavy duty rocket launcher
The reason why imo it stands out among most action movies is that it is so well constructed and directed in a way that there are a crazy amount of details that have a later repercussion in the movie. It's solidly written. It also has a subtle commentary of foreign cultures vs American culture. The fights are not some choreographed BS. It is raw, it is dirty, it is bloody. Action movies lack that violent feel to them. It actually feels like a game of "survival of the strongest". And of course the amazing protagonist-antagonist dynamic between John and Hans. And finally, the way it subtly shows its Christmas vibes while not being direct about it. Overall, not only one of the greatest action/Christmas movies and of my favorites, but one of the greatest films ever.
For me Die Hard is still my nr 1 movie of all time. Listen to the soundtrack from the late Michael Kamen, it`s fits like a glove. The action is stunning. John McTiernan is a great director for making this classic actionpacked hightech-thriller. Willis is perfect as McClane, and so are the others. This movie was setting the standard of many, many rip offs. It still is my favorite movie of all time. Every year around christmas time i have to see this masterpiece.
For me Leon (the professional) is the best, again right the way through from the paragonist to the bad guys to the story, the setting… it’s a truly beautiful action film
I'm subbing based on this video. Also 105 likes to 0 dislikes, says how good this movie is and how good you are at pointing out how good this movie is. I hope you keep putting out great vids. This is the first I've watched.
I love your vids man! Another amazing Alan Rickman villain (and imho one of the best westerns) is Quigley Downunder. If you did an action analysis of this movie, it would make my heart happy!
I loved the first three Die Hard movies because they were somewhat realistic and the characters and action was believable and grounded, 4 and 5 were just awful and over the top in all aspects.
If I could change one thing in Die Hard it'd be the goof ass FBI Agents. They just feel like they are in a different movie. Now for the real Question: Who would win in a fight? John McClain or Martin Riggs? Two fun facts, Lethal Weapon and Die Hard both take place on Christmas. The same exact, I mean exact serial numbered Beretta 92FS that Martin Riggs carried in Lethal Weapon is the same one John McClain carried in Die Hard as both films used the same prop department. The Gun itself is now in a museum because of that.
I'm very happy that when the last Die Hard movie came out, aka "2 Hours of Bruce Willis being cranky", for 24 bucks I got to see in theaters a marathon of all 5 films. Hell, 24 bucks to see the first two in theaters ALONE would have been worth it, as I didn't get to see them in such back in the day.
Every single character is good and have good scenes. Even Uli who doesn't talk is good because of the candy bars scenes. Even the convenience store cashier is good. Ya....Big time.
Michael Biehn and Bruce Willis, throughout the '80s and '90s, created sort of an "alternative" action hero archetype with their realistic characters who were strong and smart, but also realistically vulnerable, and ultimately human.
Any plans on doing an analysis of the first Starship Troopers? I find it one of those rare action movies that works because of the clichés instead of in spite of them. I would say it is an example of Verhoeven at his best, then again, he did Robocop and Total Recall so, Verhoeven at his third best?
Great video as always, Ross. I was wondering if you could do similar videos on Aliens, Predator, Robocop, and the Matrix. Keep up the great stuff man, loving the channel.
+Yiorgios Vazouras I plan to look at all of the above in some regard, but perhaps over time. Aliens is mentioned quite heavily in the latest video on action horror though. Thanks for watching!
Reasons why - it's unpredictable, has lots of twists and turns, along with witty banter/humour and the storyline is believable. Yes, it has violence and profanity : yet it's far from the worst action movies ever made - none of that "free the comrades or we kill everyone" predictable storyline, it's been done to death. Of all the action movies that should be in a DVD or Blu-ray collection, this is definitely it : Die Hard 5 really let's the side down!.
I love everything about this movie! Bruce Willis' smartass comments, the fight scenes and him saving his wife at the end. I'd pick Die Hard over Rambo and The Terminator any day of the week and twice on Sunday!
although I agree the sequels mainly did hard 2 and die hard with a vengeance are bigger and better and just very fun movies to watch with your siblings\parents\friends die hard with a vengeance being my personal favourite action movie of all time die hard 1 is the best because without it we wouldn't have these awesome sequels
marvellous youtube video made for die hard, to me, it is purely the best movie in the movie history, not one of the best action movie and even not one of the best movie, the best is the best, credit to the actor, bruce especially, also credit to the script writer, director and the producer related.
I agree that most action films were exactly as described except Rambo 1st Blood which imo was a very good movie and possibly Stallones finest performance. Die Hard definitely set a new standard and still holds up today.
Only problem I have with the movie isn't the movies fault just times fault and its Bruce Willis I don't see John McClane I see Bruce Willis and I can't look past this. I only saw the movie relatively recently
Die Hard is excellent from beginning to end and the great Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber also Bruce Willis as John McClain I always watch this movie on New year's Eve at 12:00am
I didn't really like the main character a lot and i didn't like the action hereas much as others but maybe that's because i don't enjoy watching thing as much but i also didn't like most of the characters except like 3
